Morphology and biology of the elm leaf-mining moth, Bucculatrix ulmifoliae Hering, 1931 (Lep.: Bucculatricidae) in Iran

A survey on the morphology and biology of the elm leaf-mining moth Bucculatrix ulmifoliae was conducted under natural conditions. The developmental periods of 1th +2th, 3th, 4th and 5th larval instars as well as pupa were calculated as 6.40±0.67, 1.76±0.12, 1.92±0.20, 3.51±0.37, 9.61±0.77 days, in a cage at field; and 6.40±0.66, 1.50±0.27, 1.78±0.47, 2.71±0.48, 7.64±0.33 days at the laboratory (25±2°C, RH 65±5 and 16L: 8D hours) respectively. The average life span of the moth was obtained as 23.04±1.02 days at the laboratory and 25.84±0.91 days at the field. Adults of the first generation appeared in early April. The fertile females laid their eggs underside of leaves near the midribs. Upon hatching, the first instar larva penetrates directly via base of the egg into the leaf tissue and creates the mine. B. ulmifoliae had three generations of which the second generation showed its tendency for oviposition. Third generation was observed from the first half of August, and overwintering started at the first half of September. The first and second instars mined the leaf and fed inside, while the other instars fed externally on the underside. Bucculatrix ulmifoliae has three generations a year and overwintering as a pupa in a cocoon in the crevices of barks and fallen leaves on the ground

Aggregation response of Orius niger (Hem.: Anthocoridae) to different densities of Thrips tabaci (Thys.: Thripidae) under laboratory conditions

Aggregation response of the predatory bug Orius niger (Wolff) at different densities (5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50) of the second instar nymphs of Thrips tabaci Lind. was examined on a cucumber leaf disc as a patch. The number of predatory bugs and their allocated time per patch was recorded. The index (µ), in Hassell & May, at all densities of the predator (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32) appeared greater than zero and, was indicative of its tendency to aggregate in the patches where a higher density of prey occurred. The percentage time spent by the predatory bug at different patch densities of T. tabaci showed that it allocated more time in patches with higher densities of prey

Biodiversity of mesostigmatic soil mite fauna (Acari: Mesostigmata) of a city park located in Tehran, Iran

Mites are one of the largest and most diverse subclasses of Arachnida with a worldwide distribution. The order includes 456 families and more than 56,000 species. In this study, mesostigmatic soil mite fauna was studied as indicators of biodiversity in the 52-hectare Police park of the city of Tehran, Iran. The area of the park was divided into 7 sections in terms of their vegetational and geographical properties. Soil samplings were conducted through theyear and a total of 6167 mite specimens of 80 species were collected. Species diversity was calculated using Simpsons index of diversity and Shannon-Wiener index. Species richness was estimated using Menhinicks index and Margalefs diversity index and species evenness calculation was based on Peet and Hill.  Cheiroseius sp., Halolaelaps sp., Oplitis sp.,  Asca sp., Androlaelaps aegypticus,  Pergamasus falculiger, Gamasiphis pulchellus, Cosmolaelaps lutegiensis, Macrocheles insignitus, Euandrolaelaps karawaiewi, Lasioseius youcefi,  Proctolaelaps pygmaeus,  Macrocheles peniculatus, Iphidozercon gibbus, Antennoseius masoviae, Pergamasus crassipes and Neogamasus cervicornis are reported here from Tehran for the first time. Uroseius (Apinoseius) sp. is new to Iran

Evaluation of susceptibility of the first instar nymphs and adults of Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) to neonicotinoid insecticides under laboratory conditions

The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), has been well established in the greenhouse ecosystems and is one of the most important pests on various greenhouse crops worldwide. Because of its high fecundity and resistance to commonly used pesticides, a study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of conventional insecticides of neonicotinoid compounds. In this study, the whiteflies on the ornamental plant genus Gerbera were collected from a greenhouse in the city of Mahalat and reared on tobacco under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 2ºC and 60 ± 5% Rate of humidity (RH) and a photoperiod of 16: 8 h (L: D). The toxicity of three neonicotinoid insecticides including imidacloprid SC35% (Confidor), thiamethoxam SC21.6% (Actara) and dinotefuran SG20% (Starkle) on the adults and first instar nymphs of T. vaporariorum, was evaluated using leaf dipping bioassay method. The susceptibility of adults was assessed at 24 hour post-treatment. The LC50 values of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran for adults were 130.48, 52.89 and 93.55 ppm (a. i.) respectively. The mortality of immature stages was assessed at 72 hour post-treatment. The LC50 values of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam and dinotefuran for the first instar nymph were 26.65, 12.62 and 15.48 ppm (a. i.) respectively. The results suggest that all insecticides are more toxic on first instar nymphs than adults while thiamethoxam has the highest toxicity. The insecticides dinotefuran and imidacloprid can effectively control the adults and first instar nymphs as well

Evolutionary Entropy: A Predictor of Body Size, Metabolic Rate and Maximal Life Span

Body size of organisms spans 24 orders of magnitude, and metabolic rate and life span present comparable differences across species. This article shows that this variation can be explained in terms of evolutionary entropy, a statistical parameter which characterizes the robustness of a population, and describes the uncertainty in the age of the mother of a randomly chosen newborn. We show that entropy also has a macroscopic description: It is linearly related to the logarithm of the variables body size, metabolic rate, and life span. Furthermore, entropy characterizes Darwinian fitness, the efficiency with which a population acquires and converts resources into viable offspring. Accordingly, entropy predicts the outcome of natural selection in populations subject to different classes of ecological constraints. This predictive property, when integrated with the macroscopic representation of entropy, is the basis for enormous differences in morphometric and life-history parameters across species